Product Review: SodaStream Home Soda Maker

We all know how important it is to drink water, but sometimes drinking water can feel like a chore. Water just isn’t that exciting and there are a lot of other, and not nearly as healthy, things out there to drink. SodaStream offers an excellent solution to this problem.

Seltzer water tends to be a lot more fun to drink than plain water. I find with myself and my training clients, we are more likely to drink enough water when we drink seltzer water. But, buying all that water can get expensive and you might not be sure about the quality of water that is being sourced – not to mention the environmental effect of all those bottles. SodaStream offers a way to easily make the water yourself and address all these obstacles to water drinking.

There are a number of different models available from SodaStream; the one we tested was the Genesis model. Right from the start our experience with the SodaStream was a positive one, as there is almost no set-up involved in putting a SodaStream together, aside from inserting the carbonator. The SodaStream also comes with a bottle, so you don’t have the problem of consuming and recycling bottles from buying your seltzer water pre-made at the store. All you have to do is fill up your SodaStream bottle with plain water (I use the filtered water we have delivered here at the office), attach it to the SodaStream, and push the button a couple times. It will clearly buzz when the water is ready.

If you don’t like unflavored water, even if it’s seltzer water, there are many flavors available from SodaStream to spice up your hydration even further. The majority of these flavor syrups, however, are not particularly healthy options. It’s a bit like making paleo brownies – just because you made it at home doesn’t mean it’s healthy. The root beer flavor, for instance, contains sucrose, caramel coloring, sucralose, and preservatives, among other things. The diet version will save you from the sucrose, but still contains the rest of the laundry list of not-so-great to consume items. That being said, one of my officemates upon trying the diet root beer did declare it “the bomb.”

In addition, though the directions that come with the SodaStream are very clear, it would have been nice to be warned about the potential for creating a carbonation fountain when adding the flavored syrups. The directions simply state to carbonate the water first and then add the syrup, but when I did this the water instantly turned into a geyser. I recommend still following this order of steps, but adding the syrup very slowly so as to avoid my Diet Coke + Mentos reenactment.

To avoid both the unhealthy ingredients and the soda geyser, what I recommend instead is the SodaStream My Water Flavor Essence. These are unsweetened flavors and the only ingredient is “natural flavoring.” I find when I use a few drops of these in my water it makes for a nice light taste, more interesting than even just plain seltzer water. I tried the raspberry, orange, and lemon-lime flavors and found the lemon-lime to be most enjoyable.

The SodaStream Genesis is available starting at $99.95 on the SodaStreamUSA.com website.